


A Single Dark Rose

by HeathNils



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College Student! Rogue, College Student!Natsu, College Student!Sting, Crime Drama, Crimes & Criminals, Cuddly Cats, Kidnapping, M/M, Mentioned Fraxus, Mentioned StingSu, Missing Persons, Stingtsu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2020-03-06 19:31:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18857632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeathNils/pseuds/HeathNils
Summary: "One day someone will hug you so tight all of your broken pieces will fit back together."-UnknownWhen word of a terrible and violent attack on a young college student shatters the peaceful tranquility of the college town of Crocus, Detective Orga Nanagear is tasked to find the person or persons responsible for the heinous crime and when he meets the victim, Rogue Cheney, he finds himself falling for the shy and broken boy, making it his personal mission into helping the poor boy get back onto his feet and into his arms.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you binge-watching New Detectives, Forensic Files and the FBI Files for the last couple of days while you are typing other fanfics. 
> 
> I don't exactly know what led me to pick this pairing over the many others when I first sketched out this idea but I guess it was when I was scouring through archive of our own's fanfic database while searching what I think was originally a Laxus Dreyar/Freed Justine fanfic search and I came across a fanfic called 'Dragon Society' by animekpop. It was one chapter and listed Sting Eucliffe/Rufus Lore and Orga Nangear/Rogue Cheney as pairings, earning my curiosity, and its first chapter did sound promising and I was hooked but unfortunately the author hasn't posted anything since September 29th 2016. Oh the saddening! But I was kept busy about Sting x Rufus and Orga x Rogue and the more I thought on the odd Sabertooth pairings, the many different scenarios for them, the more I seem to like the idea.
> 
> I do like trying new things.
> 
> Rogue Cheney is perhaps my all time favorite Fairy Tail character. I just love my shadow dragon squisher-bee! I mean just look at him! He's so hot and beautiful and just too perfect for the victim role! The ultimate and perfect choice for submissive!uke bait though I won't say no to the occasional story of a dominate!seme Rogue.
> 
> *cough* splendidlyimperfect's fics are awesome *cough*
> 
> Oh Rogue... Why must you be so pretty and perfect for the victim role? (/w\\)

It was Friday night and things were pretty steady for the seafood-orientated bar and grill he worked at.

Children were laughing and shrieking at the top of their lungs, jumping up and down in their seats, waving the hands that clutched coloring crayons and eating utensils wildly around while their parents attempted to calm or quiet their children. Couples of all variety of ages sat in booths batting their eyes at each other, giving each other Eskimo kisses and giving each other sickly-sweet over-dramatic nicknames. Groups of friends ranging from small to large, sat at larger booths, talking, eating and drinking, reconnecting and just enjoying each other's company while some tables that littered the restaurant was seated by one individual, who was merely enjoying the atmosphere or the mere solitude.

He was cleaning down one of his assigned tables, getting ready for another customer when his co-worker called his attention.

"Rogue. You have a two men seated at Table 41."

"I'll get right on it. Thank you."

He did one last wipe down on the table's surface before he tucked the washrag back into his left apron pocket, dusting and straightened his uniform out and pulled out a small notepad and pencil from his right pocket. Once he was sure he looked decent enough, he put on his best _'customer service'_ smile and made his way toward his table.

The waiter, Rogue, was a slim young man with an almost feminine figure that was hidden under his work uniform of a crisp white shirt with the restaurant's logo over his left breast pocket, he wore a pair of pressed dark slacks with a matching waistcoat and apron that was tied around his waist. He had rather messy raven hair that he tied back into a high, but small ponytail with some of his hair was brushed to one side of his face covering his whole right face and his eye while some of his hair was pointing upwards on top of his head and a prominent tuft obscuring most of his forehead. His eyes were a bright ruby red, almost doe-like that was paired nicely with fair skin and dark hair.

Many called him the true vision of what a dark-haired, fair-skinned beauty should look like.

As he approached the table that was in his section, he found himself giving off a genuine smile and all tension had immediately drained from his body and his form.

"You guys?" He couldn't help but chuckle. "Seriously?"

"Hey now," One of them, a blonde, grinned, "That ain't no way to treat your customers."

"You guys aren't _'customers'_ ," Rogue replied playfully, "You're just the annoying roommates I'm forced to share living space with."

"Aww~ But you love us~" The second man, a bit smaller then the other man with pink hair, teased. "Your life would be soooo boring without us in it."

"You might have me there." He smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Today's our anniversary."

"I thought your _'anniversary'_ was in March?"

"Today's our _'half-anniversary'_." Was the response. "Where we celebrate half a year early to cement its authenticity."

"Uh huh." Rogue smiled as he flipped open his notebook and placed the tip of his pencil to the sheet of paper. "What can I get you two losers?"

"Aww~ Don't be mean Rogue~" The taller of the two, a blonde, pouted childishly. "We just wanted to enjoy our date night. And see our favorite roommate."

"Fine." Rogue smiled, biting back a laugh at his friend's pout. "What can I get you _'lovebirds'_?"

Sting Eucliffe was Rogue's roommate and Rogue's best friend; Rogue had known Sting since the two boys first met each other back in kindergarten. Sting was as slim as Rogue was but he was little muscular, slightly tanned, toned and stood about the same height as Rogue though he did stand a few inches taller. He had messy, spiky blond hair jutting outwards in every direction in strands with a smaller, frontal cowlick of hair partially hanging over his forehead and his slanted, dark blue eyes that were like the purest of sapphires, above the right one was a thin, diagonal scar he gained in an accident in middle school. Attached to his left ear was an earring, a prominent metal pendant that is crystalline in shape.

Natsu Dragneel was Rogue's other roommate and Sting's boyfriend and had been Rogue's closest friend since their first year in high school. Natsu was smaller then the two men, was leaner with some muscle with a slightly tan skin, dark green eyes and messy spiky pink hair. He was never seen without his prized scale-pattern scarf around his neck; A gift given to him by his adopted father that hidden a scar on the right side of his neck, from a childhood accident while a cross-shaped scar decorated the left side of his abdomen, a result of a near fatal car accident two years ago.

After they placed their drink orders, Sting quickly gained Rogue's attention.

"Your brother called looking for you," Sting said, "Was he able to reach you?"

"Yeah," Rogue replied, "I was talking to him during my break."

"Poor guy was just frantic," Natsu hummed, "You weren't responding to your phone and we forgot you had to replace your phone so we gave him your new one. I don't know how you deal with all that; He's just way too overprotective."

"I know I know," Rogue smiled, "He just wanted to check in on me, make sure I'm doing okay and I have everything I need. I'm going to get your drinks and write down more orders. Be right back."

"Ok."

Over the next couple of hours, Rogue jotted down more orders and carried out drinks and food orders. After Rogue distributed the orders, he eventually returned to Sting and Natsu's table to pick up their cleaned plates.

"What time are you off work tonight?"

"We close at 11 but my boss may or may not need me to stay a little after to help cash out the tills," Rogue responded as he picked up their plates, "Why?"

"Natsu and I are going to need the apartment to ourselves," Sting grinned, eyebrows wriggling suggestively while Natsu flushed a bright pink, "For-- Oh, let's say-- A couple of hours."

Rogue rolled his eyes. "You can't go more then one hour without sex, can you?"

"No he can't." Natsu grinned. "You said yourself; His brains are in his balls."

"Hey!" Sting pouted. "You're the one who begs for it! Especially when you're on your hands and knees--"

"Oh my g--- SHUT UP!"

Rogue laughed as he took off with their plates.

After Sting and Natsu left, the rest of Rogue's night went smoothly, he was smiling and was in overall in bright spirits. He was chatting up with both customers and his fellow co-workers about a variety of things ranging from school studies to his weekend plans and before he knew it, it was closing time and he began to help the rest of his co-workers to clean up the restaurant and get it ready for closing. Nothing could dampen the ravenette's spirits, not even when his boss came up to him and asked him to stay behind and help her cash out the tills and print the usual nightly reports; It was a little after midnight before Rogue was finally able to leave the establishment. He walked toward his parked Ford Explorer while texting both Sting and Natsu letting them he was on his way home. He sent the message then unlocked his car and threw his backpack, jacket and his cellphone into the passenger seat next to him just as his boss drove by his still immobile car and waved him goodnight.

"Have a nice night Rogue."

"Good night Kagura. See you Tuesday."

Rogue pulled out his car keys and began to start up his car, pulling out of the parking lot and drive off into the night, looking forward to his three-day weekend to relax and to jump ahead on his homework. Distracted, he didn't realize that there was a large SUV that was parked in the alleyway behind his workplace, waiting patiently and watching his every move before it pulled out of its hiding spot, following close behind him into the night.

* * *

Natsu wasn't sure what woke him up. 

He thought at first it was because he was thirsty but once he managed to wriggle out of Sting's grasp and gulped down the large glass of water he kept on the bedside table, his feelings of unease remained; It was as if it was telling him he was forgetting something. His second guess was that perhaps he needed to use the toilet, so when he managed to escape Sting's remaining hold, without waking their cats, Lector and Happy who slept at the foot of their bed and pull on a large shirt and made his way down the hallway toward the bathroom only to discover that that wasn't it, he was starting to get annoyed. He knew he wasn't hungry since he was still full from their dinner date earlier that night and he was feeling both uneasy and frustrated; As if something was out of place and his body knew it and refused to let up on it.

So why did he wake up?

He was about to head back to his shared room and make an attempt to sleep when a soft, heartbreaking sound of a small cat crying tugged at his heart and gained his attention. He slowly moved toward his shared room, but detoured to another room before theirs, Rogue's room and slowly opened the door to find Rogue's green-furred little kitten wearing her usual cute little pink frog hat, Frosch, crying on the other side of the door, wanting to picked up and cuddled.

"Hey Frosch," Natsu smiled, bending down and picking up the now happy and purring kitten as he stroked her head and fur, "What's wrong cuddle bug? Is Rogue being mean and not cuddling with you?"

Of course, that was complete nonsense; Rogue always cuddled with Frosch regardless what it was he was doing on a given day, Frosch was his little furbaby after all. On a whim, Natsu stood up and peered into the dark room of his roommate, nothing wrong with it but it did seem a little odd that the unusually light sleeper wasn't in his face about entering his room without his permission or accusing him-- regardless of how playful it was-- of not loving his cat. Did today completely wipe out the ravenette?

_'I'm so gonna regret this buuuuuut---'_

He reached out for the light switch and quickly flipped it on while snapping his eyes shut, flooding the whole room with light. After hearing nothing that would indicate his death, Natsu peeked one eye open only to have both his eyes grow wide at the sight that awaited him. Rogue wasn't in his room. It looked as though he never even came home as his bed hadn't been slept in and was still made from this morning before he left for school and there was nothing that looked out of place.

_'This doesn't look right--'_

To assure his whacked nerves, Natsu quickly but quietly made his way to the living room and quickly pulled back the blinds to the window where their second story apartment faced the tenant parking perfectly; at least the two that mattered to the pinkette. He could see Sting's Toyota Tundra truck was parked in it's assigned stall but the other stall, that was assigned to Rogue and his car; it was empty. Feeling concern rising up in the back of his throat, he made tracks back to his and Sting's shared room, Frosch still in his arms and purring up a storm. He went to his bedside table and quickly set Frosch onto the bed, much to the kitten's meowing protest and quickly checked his cellphone, maybe Rogue texted him while they were asleep only finding no new messages from Rogue. Now clearly panicking, he quickly reached out for his sleeping boyfriend and began shaking him.

"Sting. Sting!" Natsu was shaking Sting frantically. "Come on Sting! Get up!"

"Huh-- Wha--" Sting grunted, started in bed. "Wha' happen babe?"

"Rogue's not home."

"Rogue's-- Rogue's not home?" Sting repeated, yawning and placed a hand over his face. "D-Did he stay at a friend's?"

"He didn't text me." Natsu whispered. "Did he text you?"

"I dunno," Sting yawned, "Lemme check."

Sting grunted, struggling to fight the lulls of sleep as he twisted in the bed sheets and reached out toward his bedside table, looking for his phone. He groaned once he caught sight of the time that appeared on his phone's lite face; 5:15 am but he pushed past the feeling of annoyance as he swiped his thumb across the face of his phone, opening it and looked at his text messages.

"No." Sting replied, sitting up in bed. "The only message I got from him was the one he sent at midnight saying he'd be home by 12:15."

"That was hours ago." Natsu whispered. "We need to call the police. Now!"

"Baby-- You're overreacting." Sting tried to calm the nervous pinkette. "I'm sure Rogue's okay. He probably just got delayed at work is all--"

"For five hours?!" Natsu shook his head. "I don't think so. You and I both know he would have called or texted either or both of us if that was the case!"

"Maybe he's--"

"His car's not in its stall-- His room hasn't been touched since he left since morning," Natsu interrupted before he trembled and bit his lip. "Please Sting. Something's not right-- That's probably why I woke up. I think something bad's happened. Please **_PLEASE_** call the police."

Sting pulled his distraught boyfriend into a tight hug, placing a gentle kiss to the mop of pink hair. "Hey hey hey. It's okay. It's okay. If it'll ease you, I'm gonna call the police okay?"

"You will?"

"Sure thing baby." Sting smiled. "We'll call the police."

He picked up his cellphone and dialed a number and lifted the phone to his ear and listened to the dial tone while Natsu sniffled next to him. After awhile the phone was picked up and the voice of a young man spoke.

_"911 what is your emergency?"_

"Yeah, hi, I- uh- I'd like to report a missing person--"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Rogue baby.


	2. The Case

They had arrived at the address that was given to them by the 911 dispatcher had given them, parking their patrol car into an empty stall next to a parked Toyota Tundra. Two men stepped out into the cool air of a fading night and rising morning. 

One man was pale, massive and heavily muscular, possessing an extremely well-built torso, and matching arms that was highlighted nicely by his dark-navy turtle neck. His legs were donned in dark slacks and while they held some muscle to them, thanks to his line of work, they however were considered normal in comparison and therefore, looked a tad smaller. He had long, wild shoulder-length light green hair that he had managed to somewhat tame into a low hanging ponytail with two long spikes falling on either side of his elongated, almost rectangular face, framing it while the rest were held in place by a black headband over his forehead. His face was adorned by four vertical black stripes covering his chin, placed one near the other, resembling an unconventional beard and his eyes were a pale grey.

"This is the place. Second floor, apartment 208."

The other man, who stepped out from the passenger side of the car, grunted. Like the first man, he too was a tall and muscular young man, his muscles shown nicely in his dark shirt and matching pants with dark orange eyes and blond hair that had been slicked back, its numerous wild strands pointing backwards, though some did fall back down into a small tuft over his forehead. His most noticeable feature had to be the distinct lightning bolt-shaped scar over his right eye. 

"You sure this ain't some sort of hoax?" The burly blonde asked, staring hard at the only lit window in the complex. "Are they even sure the kid's really missing?"

"According to the reports, they haven't seen him since last night," The green haired man muttered, "He texted them both saying he'd be home a quarter after midnight. They woke after 5, he wasn't home. No call, no text, no note-- nothing."

"And we're sure this ain't a college prank?" The blonde asked his partner as they both moved toward the stairs. "I mean, it's the middle of September, we're back in school and all ready the heavy pressure of good grades, attendance, the due dates of essays and papers are looming, trying to crush even the strongest of spirits and we need a distraction--"

"Yeah and that was the same thing they said in Miami on March 26th 1994 when a 19-year-old girl disappeared." He grunted. "They thought it was a college prank and that the girl merely went to the nearby planned spring break. No one really looked into it until several days later and by then it took a whole decade to catch the guy responsible."

"Yeah." The blonde grunted. "And that incident last Halloween? When we got called for a group of kids claiming they were being 'attacked by Micheal Meyers'?"

"Alright. You got me there."

"For these brats it better be the real deal or I'm tagging them."

Both men reached the landing of the apartment and gave a heavy knocking to the door and waited. It didn't take long for the door to be answered by a small pink-haired boy in his late teens with bright golden eyes that were red and puffy from crying, dressed in a black tee and red plaid-pattern sleep pants who opened the door by an inch.

"Y-Yes? Can I help you?" The boy asked, voice hoarse but was glaring suspiciously at them.

"Hi. I'm detective Orga Nanagear." He smiled, pointing to himself before pointing to the blonde man behind him. "And this is my partner, Laxus Dreyar and we are with the Crocus Police Department. We're here about your missing friend, Rogue Cheney."

To further prove their credibility, both men produced their state-issued police badges and the pinkette's behavior was quick to do a 360. He looked extremely relieved, tears dripping down his cheeks as he opened the door a little wider and ushered the two men inside. "Oh thank god! Come in come in!"

The two men nodded and followed the small pink-haired boy into the apartment. He closed the door lead them into a rather spacious living room, where a large cat tree was seen in a corner, near the patio, two cats, red and fluffy and one blue and sleek watched them. In front of the tree was a leather sofa, where another young man stood, a phone pressed to his ear. He was blonde with blue eyes that too were wide, frantic as he listened into the phone. He wore a white shirt and blue lounge pants and like the pink haired boy, he too was trembling.

"He texted us around midnight saying he'd-- he'd been home by 12:15," the blonde said, "We've both been trying to get a hold of him-- Calling him, texting him-- No response, nothing. Nothing!"

He was pacing back and forth in between the couch and coffee table as he listened to the other end of the phone.

"I don't know. W-We've called the police. They're on their way now," the blonde said, "Okay. Thank you. T-Thank you so much."

He hung up and placed his cellphone onto the coffee table. He looked to the pink haired boy.

"Gajeel's on his way," he said as he held his arms toward the pinkette, "He and his family should be here in the next four hours."

"Oh thank gods." The pinkette ran into the open arms and nuzzled the blonde's neck. "The police are here."

The blonde blinked, finally noticing the two men behind his boyfriend. His hold on the pinkette tightened as he slowly approached the two large and rather intimidating men.

"I'm Orga Nanagear and this is Laxus Dreyar," Orga smiled holding his hand out toward the smaller blonde, "We're with the Crocus Police Department."

"I'm Sting Eucliffe." The small blonde greeted shaking both men's hands. "And this is my boyfriend, Natsu Dragneel." The pinkette, Natsu, smiled meekly but shook their hands as well. Sting gestured to a pair of recliners behind them. "Would you like to sit down?"

"I'm good." Laxus smiled. "Mind if I look around?"

"No." Sting shook his head. "Go right on ahead." 

Laxus nodded and started looking around the rather modest-looking apartment, starting in the living room while Orga took a seat into one of the offered recliners followed by Sting and Natsu, settling into the couch behind them. Natsu was quick to glue himself back to Sting's side, silent tears dripping down his face as soon as the blonde made himself comfortable while Orga pulled a pen and notebook.

"Can I offer you guys something to drink?" Sting offered.

"No thanks." Orga politely refused. "We'd actually like to talk about your missing friend so we need anything and everything you can tell us about Rogue Cheney and what led to his disappearance."

"What lead--"

"There are many reasons that may cause one person to disappear," Orga explained, "I need you two to be honest with us and please understand that these questions are necessary and I apologize if you are hurt or offended."

"O-Ok."

"Has Rogue been involved with or part of a domestic dispute or abuse by a parent, guardian, sibling, or a spouse? Any history of crime or violence?"

"What-- Oh no way! Not Rogue." Sting said, shaking his head. "Has a great family. He's the sweetest guy with the biggest heart-- He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Does Rogue have a history or has a family history of past alcohol or drug abuse?"

"No." Sting replied. "The guy's so clean, he might as well been made of crystal."

"Has Rogue been involved with any street gangs or drug dealers?"

"No."

"Did Rogue have problems with his family? Like a messy divorce or a recent death in the family?"

"No. Things are great between him and his family. He's got a great, loving and very supportive family."

"Is he currently seeing anyone? A girlfriend? Boyfriend?"

"No." Sting looked to Natsu who shook his head. "Not that we know of-- His last fling was with a guy from the Senior class back three years ago."

"Does Rogue have any history of depression?"

"Never." Sting sighed. "Well-- He did suffer a heavy case of depression after his last fling--"

"More like a heartless break-up." Natsu sniffed. "The jerk."

"Yeah. Break-up." Sting agreed. "Turns out the guy had been cheating on Rogue behind his back-- Saying that Rogue wasn't putting out and giving him what he wanted-- Locked himself up in his room for five days straight after that."

"And what did he want?" Orga asked. 

"Sex." Sting answered. "Rogue just wasn't ready for that big of a step in the relationship yet and he thought the guy would respect and understand that-- Nope. Instead, he shreds Rogue's heart to scrap and cheats on him and adds insult to injury by saying he only dated Rogue because he was _'dared and betted $100'_."

"He was so distraught." Natsu sighed. "We-We'd sit outside his door and remind him of his worth, how much he meant to us, how much we loved him and he deserved better anyway."

"Any other known instances of depression?"

"No."

"Any thoughts or mentions of suicide?"

"No." Sting growled. "Look- Just because the guy dresses in dark, baggy clothes and styled his hair to hide half his face doesn't mean he's the stereotypical dark-minded, wrist-slitting and death obsessed emo. He's actually a very friendly and very warm person."

"That's good." Orga smiled. "Does Rogue have or mentioned having any mental illnesses or psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, post traumatic stress disorder or dissociative identity disorder?" 

"No." Sting answered. "He's had problems with insomnia and is a _'bit'_ OCD."

"Has he ever or currently taking any medication that is required to be taken a set number days daily or requires constant and or heavy supervision?"

"No. He only ever takes over-the-counter medicine for allergies and the occasional headache or cold."

"Has he suffered a past or recent injury on or around his head, neck, spine or nervous system that may have effected his memory, motor, speaking or thinking skills?"

"No."

"Has he had any problems relating to memory loss?"

"No."

"Has Rogue mentioned or shown any interest in joining a cult or a religious organization of questionable origins and or practices?"

"N-No." Natsu whispered. "H-He's wiccan."

"It's beginning to sound like your friend might be the victim of kidnapping," Orga said as he looked back at his notes, "Which means the next 72 hours are crucial in finding your friend. So my partner and I will be asking a series of questions-- About tonight."

"W-What happens i-if you don't find R-Rogue in 72 hours?" Natsu whispered.

Orga heaved a deep sigh. "Then we might have to consider that instead of asking where he was taken or being held, it'll be a question of where his body was dumped."

Natsu's eyes grew wide in alarm.

"I'm not gonna sugar-coat this," Orga mumbled, "Criminal abductions are the most widely reported missing person cases and are often committed by a person or persons he knew or someone in his family knew. Your friend could be held hostage by someone he knew and trusted with his life and safe-keeping possibly being used as a leverage or ransom to gain money from you or his family for reasons that vary from revenge to outright greed."

"R-Ransom?" Natsu squeaked as Sting pulled him to his chest, trying to ease the nervous pinkette. "What? Why?"

"That's the best case scenario, but again, it's a long shot." Orga explained. "But there's a possibility that he could have been taken and placed into slavery, sexual servitude or unfree labor and if not, then he will end up like the many other unfortunate souls and be found-- Dead."

"NO!" Natsu shrieked, burying his face in Sting's neck. "No!"

"We'll gladly tell you everything we know!" Sting said just as alarmed as Natsu. He wrapped his arms around Natsu, pulling the pinkette as tightly to him as he could. "Anything you want!"

"You have to bring Rogue back alive!" Natsu whimpered. "Please! I can't! I can't!"

"Then we have your permission to look in your roommate's room?" Laxus asked, hand outstretched to the doorknob of a closed door.

"Anything!" Sting claimed. "Everything! Just bring Rogue back!"

"We'll do everything we can in our power. I promise you." Orga assured. "Now you must tell me-- When was the last time you saw Rogue Cheney?"

"W-We last saw him aboooooout..." Sting heaved a heavy sigh, running a free hand through his messy blonde hair. He turned to Natsu briefly before facing Orga again. "About 6, 6:30ish. He was at work, working a 2 to 10 shift. Natsu and I were having our Date Night and we figured we'd go out to his place of work for dinner."

"Where does he work?"

"He works at the Mermaid Heel: Seafood Bar and Grill. A-As a waiter." Sting answered. "It's about a 20 minute drive from here."

"Wait-- Mermaid Heel?" Laxus' attention was diverted from a pile of school books he was rifling through. "The restaurant in downtown Crocus?"

"Y-Yeah," Sting looked between the two large men, unsure, "Is- Is that bad?"

Orga seemed to ask the same question as he turned and fixed Laxus with a look.

"No." Laxus assured before turning back to the books. "I'm just surprised is all. I heard from a variety of sources that employment there is rather-- 'Exclusive'."

"Huh." Orga shrugged and turned back to the two young men. "How long has Rogue worked for them?"

"Since last Summer. He works there to pay his way through school."

"I see. Where does he go to school?"

"We all go to the University of Crocus." Sting answered. "Rogue's taking classes so he could get a degree in the medical science. We won't be going back for fall classes til next week."

"I see."

"We were at the restaurant, talking with him as he took our orders, asked him when he planned to leave work," Sting continued, "Since Natsu and I needed the apartment to ourselves-- Alone. He told us he'd leave work around 10, provided if his manager didn't him to stay and help cash out tills and write reports."

"Why did you need the apartment to yourselves?"

Immediately, Sting's face flushed bright pink while Natsu's burned bright red and with a noise of embarrassment, he buried his face into Sting's neck. Orga raised an eyebrow, a small tugging at his mouth at the response.

He knew that reaction.

"F-For-- You know-- R-Reasons." Sting stuttered with a nervous laugh. "Just... Because."

"Kid," Laxus said from the bedroom, looking through the closet. This kid sure didn't own a lot of stuff-- That or-- As pushed the closest door open a little wider-- He blinked. This kid was very organized. "There ain't nothing wrong with you wanting the place alone to bang your boyfriend."

Orga couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped him while the smaller blonde's face burned a bright shade of red and the pinkette squeaked, burying himself deeper into the man's throat as he physically could.

"I mean, I bang my fiance, Freed all the time," Laxus said, "And I have ta tell Nanagear here to beat it when I want a little 'alone' time with my fiance."

"He does." Orga agreed. "Now back to the questions; When did you two get home?"

"We got home around 8:30." Sting answered, trying to will his red face to disappear. "Rogue sent us a text around 9:45 saying he would be staying late, cashing out the tills and blah blah blah--"

"And you two were--"

"Home." Sting answered. "Natsu and I remained at the apartment and crashed close to 10:30, 11 o' clock before we woke up a little after 5 and called you guys." His face burned red once again. "Y-You can look into the trash bin in our-- Our bathroom for- for further proof."

Laxus let out another laugh.

"Natsu?"

"Hmm?" Natsu peeked from his hiding spot in the crook of Sting's neck.

"Can you confirm that the both of you were here from between 9 o' clock to 6 in the morning?" Orga asked.

"Y-Yeah." Natsu nodded weakly. "We were."

"Good." Orga quickly wrote a note down. "Now- Can both of you tell me when exactly you first discovered or noticed he was missing?"

"Uh--"

"It was around 5... I-In the morning." Natsu said, cutting Sting off. "I-I woke up-- I'm not s-sure why but I woke up, anxious and nervous. So I went to t-the kitchen to get a glass of water a-and then I heard Frosch--"

"Frosch?"

Orga's question was answered fairly quickly when a tiny but squeaky meow diverted his attention to his feet. There, between his legs was a tiny green-furred little kitten wearing a strange and unusual little pink hat, shaped like a frog, staring at him, meowing at him before giving a pathetic leap for his lap, flopping on to its side before trying again, this time, scaling up his leg and began kneading his lap. Orga smiled and gave the small creature small strokes underneath the chin, earning him a purr.

"Rogue's cat." Sting explained, nodding to the cat now nesting in Orga's lap, purring. "We have three; Lector, Happy and Frosch. Frosch is Rogue's baby, a gift given to him by Levy as a high school graduation present."

"And Levy is--"

"Gajeel's wife." Sting answered. "Rogue's sister-in-law."

"Ah."

"S-She was crying," Natsu continued, "P-Pawing and meowing at the door. It was weird, R-Rogue's always cuddling with Frosch, showering her with attention so I-I opened it and I turned on the l-lights-- I expected him t-to yell at me for w-waking him but he wasn't there! He wasn't there!"

"Then what did you do?"

"I-I checked the assigned parking, w-where he would usually park his car-- I-It wasn't there," Natsu said, "I went back to mine and S-Sting's room, to c-check my phone, thinking- hoping- that maybe Rogue s-sent me a message saying anything about b-being late and I missed it. There wasn't any!"

"He woke me up." Sting said. "Asking if Rogue had messaged me, I checked my phone and I hadn't received word from him since his last text at around midnight."

"So you last heard from him around midnight?"

"Yeah." Sting nodded, rubbing his forehead. "He sent us both a text saying he'd be home around 12:15."

"He texts often?" Laxus asked from the hall closet, looking through the hanging jackets. "Everyday, every minute?"

"Texts or gives us an occasional call," Sting answered, "He always texts, calls or leaves a note for either one of us or both of us when he's going somewhere." 

"I see." Orga nodded, jotting a few things down in notebook. "So Rogue doesn't leave anywhere without leaving word for one of you?"

"No. Never." Sting shook his head. "Ever since he was really little, Gajeel had always taught him that he'd always tell someone he knew where he was going, who he was going with and always check in with them."

"And Gajeel is--"

"His older brother." Sting sighed before correcting himself. "His half-brother."

"An older brother." Orga nodded. "I'd also like to speak with him as well. Where is Gajeel now?"

"He lives in Magnolia. About 4 and a half hours from here with his wife and kids but he is on his way here right now." Sting answered. "He calls Rogue twice a day-- Everyday to check up on him, to make sure he's okay and has everything he needs."

"Where are his parents?" Orga asked. "His mother? His father?"

"Dead." Sting shook his head. "They died when he was just 5 years old. Gajeel's his only family-- He's all he has left."

"No aunts, uncles, grandparents?" Orga asked, writing down more notes. "Cousins?"

"None. After their parents' death and he gained sole custody of Rogue, he's never spoke of them or confirmed that they had any." Sting answered. "I don't even think Rogue knows as to why. Gajeel refuses to say."

"Guess we'll have to ask him that then," Orga hummed. "Any friends, acquaintances?"

"Just us, a few classmates and select co-workers." Sting smiled, rubbing his thumb across the back of Natsu's hand. "Rogue's a rather quiet kid, a bit closed-off, prefering his space and he is painfully shy. He gets a bit nervous and skittish when meeting new people but once you get him out of his shell, he's quite open, warm, caring and very friendly."

"Has he had problems with any of his classmates or co-workers?" Orga asked. "Heated arguments, physical altercations, violent confrontations?"

"Wha-- No way!" Sting shook his head. "That sounds more like something Gajeel would do..."

"Does Rogue have any enemies? Like someone whose love he scorned whether it was intentional or not?"

"No."

"Was there a co-worker, before or prior, that resented his talent or his hard work ethic that earned him praise from management?"

"No."

"Was there someone who saw him as an academic rival that he may or may not have been aware about?"

"No."

"It's being sound like this Rogue kid may have been abducted at random," Laxus grunted as he reappeared into the living room, "I found nothing in the kid's possession to say otherwise. That's gonna make finding him and the persons responsible harder."

Natsu whimpered while Sting rubbed his back in an attempt to console the anxious pinkette.

"Have them set up road blocks, leading in and out of the city," Orga said, shutting his notebook, "Put out an A.P.B for both the boy and his vehicle."

Laxus nodded and pulled out a small radio before he paused and turned to Sting and Natsu. "What the kid's car look like and license plate?"

"It's a 2004 Ford Explorer, 4-door, black." Sting answered. "Uh-- The license was- was SHDW X777*."

"And the kid?" Laxus asked.

"Uh-- He's about my height with a slim, lithe figure," Sting rubbed his head, "He has messy dark hair reaching his shoulders covering up the right side of his face with red eyes. He was last wearing his work uniform; white shirt, black slacks--"

As Laxus began relaying the info into the radio, Orga turned to them. "Do you have a current photo of him that we can use for reference?"

"Y-Yeah." Natsu reached around Sting to the side table and pulled out a rather worn photo album. "This was Rogue last week with m-me and Sting... Celebrating his 19th birthday."

He had handed Orga a photo of a slim young man with messy black hair reaching down to his shoulders with some strands pointing upwards on top of his head, a prominent tuft obscuring most of his forehead and brushed to the right side covering his face and his right eye. His eyes were ruby-red and he wore a small smile on his face as he leaned into the frame of the picture with Sting and Natsu. Orga felt his heart stutter.

He was... He was cute.

"Orga."

"Hmm?" Orga, thankful for the distraction turned to Laxus who stared at the green-haired man followed by Sting and Natsu. "What is it?"

"We've located the kid's car."

"Really?" Natsu asked, voice full of hope. "Y-You found Rogue?"

"What?" Orga blinked. That was quick. "Where?"

"One of the patrolling officers found it abandoned in the parking area of the Fairy Tail cafe." Laxus said. "He was just about to have it ticketed for improper parking when I called the A.P.B."

"Fairy Tail?" Natsu whispered, eyes wide. "T-That's where I work."

"It's barely a 10 minute walk from here." Sting said. 

"We better check it out," Orga said, standing up and dislodging the kitten from his lap much to Frosch's annoyance. He handed them a small business card. "You two stay here in case a ransom call is made. My personally cell number is on there. Call me if the call is made or if you can think of anything else that might help."

"O-Ok." Natsu said, numbly taking the card from Orga. "Ok."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * = See what I did there?


	3. The First Clue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this little head canon as wacky as Bickslow is, he's the kinda guy you'd find watching 80's and 90's popular children's cartoons like Dexter's Lab, Kim Possible and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Nothing wrong with it, as I'm guilty of those guilty pleasures myself.

He groaned, blearily opening his eyes and the first thing he noticed once he cleared the hazy fog from his mind was that he seemed to be floating, standing rather limply, in a dimly lit place. It looked to be a basement, the air felt-- stale but smelled of laundry detergent and dry dust. There was a large table with a white sheet over it, concealing a number of items underneath, a few chairs and several trunks, boxes and a washer and dryer unit lined against the walls along with a variety of nick-knacks and tools. A large pile of blankets rested a top a large, graying mattress next to a large boiler hidden behind a rickety-looking wooden stairway that likely lead upstairs into a home and the only light, a dangling light bulb really, swung gently in a non-existent breeze just above him. 

_'Where... Where am I...?'_

He was disorientated, having no clue as to how he got here or where _'here'_ even was and he attempted to stand on his weaken, numb, jelly-like legs, failing the first two times. He discovered part of the reason for his inability to stand-- Well, stand properly-- was that both his legs had been tied to his ankles by thick ropes to a pair of stakes drilled into the ground, keeping his feet two feet apart from each other. Confused, he then attempted to move his arms to help better in steadying himself only to find that both of his hands were tied, strung up high and taunt above his head to wooden beam across the ceiling above; holding him in place.

_'What in--?'_

Mind now awake, he tugged at the ropes wrapped around his wrists and ankles but they held fast and he came to realize that he had been strung up, tied up likely with purpose. He still wore his work uniform; black slacks, white button-up and his non-slip shoes which eased part of his anxiety. He opened his mouth, to call out, to say SOMETHING-- only to find that his mouth had been covered by a large piece of duct tape that had been wrapped around his head.

Gagging him.

He was full-on panicking now as his memories began to flood in-- He now had an idea as to how he got to this unknown location. He tugged at his bindings frantically and yelling into the duct tape, his body twisting in anyway to escape the ropes' hold, tears of frustration prickling in his closed eyes. His struggling ceased, his attention diverted when the door at the top of the stairs opened and closed with a heavy creak and the sounds of heavy footsteps coming down the squeaking stairs, towards him. He shivered, cold sweat enveloped his body at the sight of a person wearing dark clothes and a dark ski mask over their face that was coming down the stairs.

They were not here to help.

"Good~ You're awake." They purred, bouncing a large item in their hand. "Finally~ I've waited long enough."

His eyes trailed down the scary masked face to the item in their hand and his eyes became wide in horror as he realized what it was and his eyes snapped up to the covered face, shaking his head frantically, his struggling to escape renewed, attempting to move his body away from the person who now held the promise of pain. They pulled away the sheet off the table, revealing the contents to him. Hot tears of actual fear flowed down his cheeks in rivers as he tried to reason with this person, now his captor, through his gag that fell upon deaf ears as he yanked violently on his restraints.

"Ya' know... This reminds me of a _'fantasy'_ I once had--"

 

* * *

  
Orga and Laxus arrived at the Fairy Tail restaurant, home to it's famous burgers and spirits, barely a 2 minute drive from the apartment complex a quarter past 6 in morning. 

They parked their patrol car on the west side of the building, on the side of the street next to the parking lot, where their prize waited. They stepped out into the slowly warming air and made their way to a parked vehicle, that matched the description of their missing Ford Explorer, just being roped off. They were quickly greeted by the patrolling officer that had called it in once he finished roping it off with the police tape.

He was a slim young man with sandy, straw-colored hair with wavy strands of hair framing and partially covering the sides of his face. He had dark eyes and thin, dark eyebrows with a matching small amount of chin hair.

"Detective Nanagear, Dreyar." He greeted. "Glad the both you could come."

"Officer Alors." Laxus nodded, the three of them walking toward the parked SUV. "Glad we did too-- This our vehicle?"

"Yep." Officer Alors nodded pulling out his handheld device and touch-screen pen. "4-door, 2004 black Ford Explorer. License plate; SHDW X777. Registered owner: Rogue Cheni... Cheni? Cheney?"

"Cheney." Orga grunted.

"Cheney." Max nodded, typing in the note. 

"When did you first find it, Max?" Laxus asked, moving to examine the exterior of the car.

"About around 2 am." Officer Alors, Max, said. "I was doing my last couple of rounds for the night when I first spotted the vehicle improperly parked in the far back of the restaurant's west parking lot. Taking up almost three spaces."

"Did you see anyone in or around it?" Orga asked, peering through the windows. "The owner, maybe?"

It was a really long shot, he knew, but he was still hopeful.

"No." Max shook his head. "Saw no one that matched the description of the person on the APB. I ticketed the vehicle back around 4 in the morning and since I'd head back this way to the station to turn-in my time sheets and paperwork, I decided to give its owner at least one more hour to move it before I came back and have it impounded. I already looked over the previous 2 infractions."

"I thought overnight parking's allowed at Fairy Tail as long it's after hours?" Laxus asked, bending to one knee to look under the vehicle.

"Yeah. It WAS." Max chuckled. "But the owner had problems with the people who park here overnight and leave their uh-- _'TRASH'_ lying around. So now a 2-hour long parking rule has been implented during the after hours. Any longer then that, the owner or any nearby patrolling cops have the right to have the vehicle towed at the owner's expense."

"Was that what you were doing?"

"Yeah. I was just about to have a tow truck called in when you radioed out the APB." Max nodded. "I secured the area to the best I could with what I could-- I apologize that I have nothing else to report."

"It's all good." Laxus nodded. "Thanks for your help Max."

Max nodded, turning on his heel and walked back toward his parked patrol car, leaving the two burly men with the car. Laxus picked himself up off the ground and continued his examination of the exterior while Orga pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, carefully using it to open the car door to better examine the interior of the car, snapping pictures with the police-issued camera. The driver's door had been left ajar, meaning that the kid stepped out of the vehicle of his own accord but had plans to return, the keys were dangling from the ignition, locked into the off position. He turned the keys, bring the engine to life, finding that everything seemed to be running fine. Lights, A/C, heating, everything the vehicle was all in good working order.

 _'Lights are working. Engine's sounds good.'_ Orga looked to the dials behind the wheel, snapping another picture. _'Oil's good. Battery's fine. Gas tank's full-- So why'd he pull over?'_

He shut off the engine and could see the kid's belongings; his backpack, work apron, his cellphone and jacket were piled in the passenger seat. He quickly documented the scene, shifting through the items and pulled out a wallet from his backpack and checked the contents and discovered that all his cards, debit and credit, his IDs, state issued and school, and almost 200 in cash was still there; Nothing, other then the Cheney kid, was missing, leaving Orga with more questions then answers. He picked up the kid's cellphone, bringing it to life and discovered on the lit face that there was 55% battery life and there almost 60 missed calls and text messages and 50 plus voicemails; All of them from the kid's roommates and from someone named Gajeel. Orga furrowed his brows for a moment, trying to figure out who Gajeel was until he remembered-- That's right.

Gajeel was his older brother.

 _'He was barely 3 minutes away from home...'_ Orga looked up from the phone, in the direction of Rogue's apartment. _'What would make him just pull over? Get out of his car and then disappear?'_

"Hey Nanagear." Laxus suddenly called, shaking Orga from his thoughts. "Check this out."

"Coming." Orga grunted, coming up next to the blonde. "What's up?"

"There's a large dent here on the back bumper." Laxus pointed to it. "I'm thinking this Rogue kid might have gotten into a fender bender."

 _'Fender bender?'_ Orga blinked, throwing the cellphone back onto the pile. _'That might have gotten him to pull over and get out of his car...'_

Orga moved away from the driver's side and toward the back end of the car, peering down at the bumper. He raised his eyebrow and took another picture. "Looks fresh. Might have to ask the roommates."

"Yeah. Looks like it. There looks to be some paint transfer." Laxus said, pointing out the paint. He looked to the mint-haired man. "That'll be Fullbuster's problem. You find anything in the kid's car?"

"No." Orga shook his head. "The car's in good running order. His cellphone, backpack, wallet-- All his cards, IDs, cash-- Everything's still there." 

"So we can rule out robbery as the objective." Laxus decided. "Something doesn't sit right."

"No... It doesn't. He leaves his place of work around midnight, texts his roommates to let them know he was on his way home." Orga said, looking to the direction the heart of the town would be. " He gets into a mild fender bender along his way home, so he pulls into a parking lot barely 3 minutes away from his apartment," Orga then looked to the front of the car before back at Laxus, "He gets out of his car, maybe to assess the damage--"

"And probably to confront the asshole that hit him." Laxus supplied. "I mean, if I got rear-ended, that's what I would've done. I would have confronted the prick that hit me."

"That's if the person who hit him didn't flee from the scene."

"I don't think that was the case," Laxus said, "People don't disappear after viewing the damage to their cars." 

"True. So whoever hit him owned up to it, pulling over with him." Orga agreed. "Rogue gets out of his car, his last line of safety-- Then just disappears without a trace by 2am just before Officer Alors finds his car-- No signs of a struggle, no signs of a fight. There are homes and apartments and yet," Orga looks to buildings on the other side of the parking lot, "Nobody seems to see or hear anything. No one reports anything."

"They probably incapacitated the Rogue kid to keep him from making a sound." Laxus grunted. "There fresh skid marks just a few feet away-- Like as though someone was in a hurry to get out of here before they were noticed. This is starting to really look like a stranger abduction. There may be nothing that says that this kid even knew the person who abducted him but I'm thinking the kidnapper knew him-- He was a perfect victim of opportunity and was struck at the right time; at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Orga grunted in agreement, folding his arms across his chest as he tried to make sense of the puzzle pieces he and his partner had been given so far. He looked toward the buildings, apartments and then to the Fairy Tail restaurant and he let out a sigh.

"You still know the owner of Fairy Tail, right?"

"Yeah..." Laxus replied slowly, eyebrow raised. "We practically grew up in the same crib together... Why?"

"Think we can get her out here and get the security tapes?" Orga asked, nodding toward the building. "I noticed there's a security camera up there by the dumpster over there. I'd like to have it. Maybe our culprit was captured on it."

"Sure. Don't see why not." Laxus said, pulling out his cellphone. "I'll get a hold of a friend of mine in City Hall too and see if we can get the clearance to gain any and all traffic cameras on the routes the kid usually takes to and from work. Maybe one of them has something for us."

"Yeah... Hopefully our kidnapper's getaway vehicle. We'll have to question the residents nearby and re-question Sting and Natsu later. Just to make sure the marks on the Ford are indeed fresh." Orga said. "Can you get Bickslow out here?"

"Bickslow?" Laxus asked, not looking up from his phone as he typed fast across the screen. "You know as well as I do he's not all _'there'_ until at least 9."

"Yeah. I know." Orga nodded, smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He knew well. "But we need the vehicle towed back to the lab and he's the guy for the job. We'll get Fullbuster and Vastia to comb the thing thoroughly, top to bottom, inside and out. Hopefully one of them will find us something we can use. Something we may have missed."

"Yeah, I know but man, Bickslow's gonna be pissed." Laxus grinned. He couldn't stop his laughing. "He is _**NOT**_ a morning person."

"Tell him I'll pay for his _'specialized'_ coffee if he does it."

 

* * *

  
As 8 o'clock loomed closer and closer with the sun just now above the horizon, the sound of a large engine roaring towards them followed by the sound of crunching gravel entered the air. Both men looked up from their documenting to see a large, familiar dark tow truck stopping just short of the police tape, followed by a not-so-familiar pristine 2016 red BMW, both engines shutting off and the driver's door to the tow truck opened, allowing a man to step out. He looked to the skyline, squinting his eyes before he turned to look at the two men, making his way to them.

"Bickslow." Laxus grinned. "So glad you could finally join us."

"Oh yeah." The newcomer, Bickslow, grunted. Clearly irritated, his words dripping with sarcasm and promise of pain. "Me too. Now where's my promised goods?"

Bickslow was a tall man, as tall as Orga and Laxus though he wasn't as large, with a mildly muscular build and broad shoulders. His hair was styled in rather wild and unique way; blue and black in color, with the black hair being almost shaven and the blue hair, on the top and on the sides of his head were much longer, the one on top being styled in a mohawk-like crest and the ones on the sides pointing backwards. On the upper part of his nose and his forehead was the tattoo of a stylized man extending his long, curved arms outwards. His eyes were a dark red and his fingernails were painted with dark nail polish.

"Here." Orga said with an eye roll, handing the man a rather unusually large Styrofoam cup. "Happy?"

Bickslow's face split into a wild grin, taking the large cup from the burly greenette and removing the lid. Hot and heavily sweet smelling steam rose from the inside of the cup and he took a deep whiff before he placed it to his lips and took a large gulp of the hot liquid inside. He licked his lips and placed the lid back.

"Am now." Bickslow said, his trademark familiar smile on his face. He took another sip, through the lid. "So what's the sitch?"*

"We need this car towed back to the lab." Orga said, nodding toward the Ford Explorer. "Can ya' do it?"

"Sure thing." Bickslow nodded. "Whadda got? A drug bust? Murder case?"

"Hopefully not." Laxus grunted. "We've got a Missing Persons case."

"Oh fun." Bickslow groaned, taking another sip of coffee. "Any leads?"

"None so far." Laxus hummed. "So that's why we need you to tow it to Fullbuster--"

"Like it was a delicate, rare China figure." Bickslow nodded. "You got it Boss Man."

Bickslow took another sip of his coffee before he turned on his heel and made his way back to his tow truck, preparing for its tow and jotting down a few notes on his clipboard. He was pulling the ropes and straps for the towing just as the other car, the BMW, opened its driver's door and out stepped a beautiful young woman.

She had long, sparkling white hair that curled slightly at the ends with two bangs framing her sweet and delicate face and reaching down to her chest; the most distinctive trait in her hair was a short, upward ponytail tied and covering her forehead. She has large doe-like blue eyes and a curvy, voluptuous body with large breasts that showed nicely in her red blouse and cream-colored skirt; a figure would have many a men drool and only dream to have her as their girlfriend. The minute both her and Laxus' eyes met, she let out a squeal and threw arms open, running towards the burly blonde.

"Laxus!" Her voice full of enthusiam. "It's been **_FOREVER_**!"

"Hey Mira," Laxus returned, grunting as the small woman nearly knocked him down, as he gathered her into a rather clumsy hug,  "And it's only been one week since we last each other."

"Yeah-- Forever." The woman, Mirajane Strauss, nodded while Laxus chuckled and shook his head. She eventually pulled away. "Soooooo-- Dish. What's new? How's Free-Free?"

" _'Free-Free'_?" Orga mouthed, looking to Laxus in confusion but also amusement. "Who's _'Free-Free'_?"

"Freed." Laxus clarified from the corner of his mouth and Orga nodded in understanding. He turned back to Mira. "He's doing fine, Mira-- The hospital's been keeping him busy."

Mirajane beamed. "How lovely."

"Mira, you remember my partner, Orga Nanagear?" Laxus asked as they pulled away, hand held out toward the burly greenette, who smiled and nodded. "Right?"

"Of course I remember Orga," Mira smiled sweetly, pulling Orga into a hug, "How have you been?"

"Eh-- Can't complain." Orga shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Been here, been there--"

"That's good." Mira beamed. "You both look good. Been taking good care of yourselves?"

"Mira," Laxus cut through, "I'm sure you know why we called you out here so early--"

"Oh yeah." Mira smiled. "It's about that Ford civic truck that had been in my parking lot since 1 in the morning, right?"

"Ford Explorer." Laxus corrected while Orga snorted.

"Whatever." Mira smiled, unfazed.

"Waitwaitwait--" Orga blinked as the rest of Mira's words sunk in. "You first noticed the vehicle parked here around 1 in the morning?"

"Yes." Mirajane nodded. "Fairy Tail closed its doors at its usual time at 10 pm. My sister, Lisanna and I stayed behind, late last night-- counting the tills, filing the receipts, re-stocking merchandise for the morning shift-- The usual."

"Alright." Laxus nodded.

"Lisanna and I finally left the building a little before 1 am." Mira continued. "Lisanna saw it and pointed it out to me as we walked to my car. I called it in to the nearby patrolling officers, letting them know about the Ford car and our 2-Hour parking limit. Told them I wanted it gone before my brother Elfman arrived to open the doors at 8 am." Mira blinked and then looked to her wristwatch. "He's probably on his way here actually. It's almost 8."

"Did you see or hear anything suspicious while you were inside or when you stepped out to see the vehicle?" Orga asked.

"No." Mira shook her head. "Everything was quiet."

Orga nodded and quickly pulled out the picture given to him by Natsu and pointed Rogue out to the white-haired woman. "We're trying find this young man with the dark hair. Have you seen him?"

"Yeah. He was here yesterday a little around after noon." Mira nodded after taking the picture, studying it. "Natsu was working here yesterday on the morning shift, 10 am to 5 pm, when he came in for his usual coffee-- A grande dark mocha iced coffee with whipped cream and he was talking with Natsu briefly before he left to go work."

Mira gave off a gentle and fond smile. 

"He's a roommate of Natsu and his boyfriend Sting if I remember, Natsu says they knew each other since high school... I think his name is Rogue-- A really sweet boy. He's so shy and quiet, always turning pink, becoming timid and stumbles over his words whenever Lisanna, me or anyone else try to engage him. So cute." She frowned, eyebrows knitted. "I haven't seen him since then."

She looked between the two men as she handed the picture back to them, nervous when the men shared a look between each other. A look, she learned while having grown up with Laxus, didn't mean anything good.

"Laxus?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, eyes wide. "What's going on?"

Laxus looked toward Orga who nodded.

While it wasn't approved to share case information with friends or loved ones from either side of the fence-- victim, culprit or detective there was no way they could lie to Mira.

The woman was just someone they knew they could only trust.

"His full name is Rogue Cheney, Mira." Laxus said. "He's a 19 year old college student who lived not far from here, he's roomies with your employee, Natsu and owns this car here-- And he's gone missing."

Mira gasped, her hands clapped over her mouth. "Oh no-- How--?"

"We don't know." Orga admitted. "All we gathered so far was that he left his place of work sometime before or around midnight, texting his roommates Natsu and Sting that he'd be home at a quarter after midnight. They both woke up a little after 5 am and discovered he never came home, so they called us and reported him _'Missing'_."

"How long--"

"From between his last confirmed text, to when we were called out at 5:30 am," Orga said, "He had been missing for 5 hours-- Now, close to 9 hours-- No clues or hints to tell us who or why. We put out an APB and Officer Alors called it in-- Telling us he noticed the vehicle around 2:30 am. Telling us Rogue disappeared sometime between midnight to 2 am... Until you told us you saw the car at 1 am."

"And he disappeared?" Mira said. "A-Are you sure his car didn't just break down and he's- he's staying with a friend?"

"We thought that was the case, but the car's in perfect running order and we found signs that he may have possibly got into a fender-bender-- Which could have lead him to pull into your restaurant's parking-- To make sure everything was all in order." Laxus nodded. "From there, he might've become a victim of opportunity as we spotted some skid marks not far, leaving the scene and was snatched."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Mira asked. 

"You can." Orga smiled. "We could really use the footage from that camera."

"Camera?" Mira blinked.

Orga nodded. He pointed to the security camera just above the dumpster back behind the building on the west side. Mira followed the direction of Orga's hand and found herself spotting the same camera and her eyes snapped back to the burly green-haired man.

"Sure." She nodded, fumbling her purse to find her keys. "Anything you need, I'll gladly hand over. I'll help anyway I can."

"Thanks Mira." Laxus smiled. 

"Just promise me," Mira begged, eyes wide and glassy with unshed tears, "Promise me you'll find him safe and sound, okay? I can't imagine what Natsu or Rogue's family must be going through right now... I can't even imagine how scared Rogue must be."

"We're gonna do everything we can, Mira." He turned to Orga. "While Fullbuster examines the car, we'll have Lore comb through it and hopefully give us some good news."

Orga nodded. "Have you heard anything from Evergreen in City Hall yet?"

"Not yet." Laxus said, pulling out his phone and checking it. "She hasn't read my texts yet so I'm gonna safely assume she's still asleep. I swear that woman more time sleeping then actually doing anything."

"Well, we'll go to Mermaid Heel in the meantime then." Orga decided. "Get hold of the manager, owner, co-workers-- Any one who worked last night, who saw him last. One of them might have a clue we can follow on."

"Right then." Laxus nodded. "I'll give Sting and Natsu a call and have them meet up with us at the station with the kid's older brother and his family arrive into town."

"Let's head to the lab."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *= Please tell me someone got the reference.


End file.
